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Rail Transit
Rapid Transit
Rohr Rail and Industrial Systems Group
Written and compiled by S. Poole
In July of 1969 Rohr was awarded a $66.7 million contract for 250 BART cars, "the world's most advanced transit vehicles." The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit cars were manufactured by the Rohr Corporation. There were two versions of the car, one 70 feet long (100 "B" cars) and the other 75 feet long (150 "A" cars with attendent cabs). Each car could hold 72 seated passengers. A special rig was designed to transport the cars from Chula Vista to the BART District's Hayward yard facility, a 16 hour trip. During 1970 Rohr was to build 10 prototype cars for testing on BART tracks. The first car was expected to be delivered in the spring of 1971 when service was to begin, running "every 90 seconds during peak traffic hours" (Rohr Corporation, circa 1970). In November of 1974, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) initiated a lawsuit against Rohr and seven other companies. Rohr denied any wrongdoing (Rohr, 1975, p. 3).
"During FY 1975 completed production of 450 rail transit cars for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District." Rohr built "300 rail transit cars for the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority." It "started production of seven turbin-powered trains for the National Railway Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)" (Rohr, 1975).
In June of 1975, Rohr management decided to discontinue the passenger rail car refurbishing Amtrak Rail Systems, Inc. in Mira Loma, California deeming it "marginal and non-essential" (Rohr, 1975, p. 1, 3).
"During 1976, Rohr delivered seven turbine-powered trains for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Rohr Employees' Federal Credit Union, November 1977).
In 1977, the "Rohr-built people mover went into service" at "Honolulu's Pearlridge Shopping Center (Rohr Employees' Federal Credit Union, 1977).
A wholly owned subsidiary, Rohr-Flxible Company, manufactured city transit buses for the domestic market. In June of 1975, Rohr management decided to discontinue the small bus and van manufacturing of Flxible Southern in Evergreen, Alabama deeming them "marginal and non-essential activities" (Rohr, 1975, p. 1, 3). Rohr-Flxible also had facilities in Loudonville, Ohio; Delaware, Ohio; and Millersburg, Ohio.
In 1976, Rohr's Flxible subsidiary delivered 1,480, a new company record (Rohr Employees' Federal Credit Union, February 1977).
Transit Cars - Produced at the Rohr Winder, Georgia plant for the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
For more information, see:
Rohr Industries, Inc. 1975 Annual Report.
Turbotrains
For more information, see:
Rohr Industries, Inc. 1975 Annual Report.
Rohr Industries, Inc. 1975 Annual Report, page 10.
BART and Aerotrain plates. (Photo: Rohr Aircraft Memories)
REFERENCES:
Rohr Corporation news release, Chula Vista, California, circa 1970.
Rohr Employees' Federal Credit Union calendar, February 1977.
Rohr Employees' Federal Credit Union calendar, June 1977.
Rohr Industries, Inc. 1975 Annual Report.
Rohr Industries, Inc., Annual Report 1976.
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Last updated: 08-08-2024